PRAY FOR LAWYERS PREPARING FOR CYBERLIBEL FIGHT AT SUPREME COURT

PRAY FOR LAWYERS PREPARING FOR CYBERLIBEL FIGHT 

AT SUPREME COURT

While we lawyers as soldiers in this battle sacrifice our time, talents, skills and resources to preserve the people's fundamental freedom of expression, speech, press, liberty and privacy of communication, we FERVENTLY NEED YOUR PRAYERS.

We need that we leave no fine argument not fired on. We need every killing point. We need to be composed and sharp. 

The Office of Supreme Court Justice Roberto Abad called a meeting on January 4, 2013 at 2:00 pm among all petitioners and lawyers to tackle the proceedings and issues to be raised during the oral arguments set for January 15, 2013 at 2:00 p.m.

PLEASE PRAY FOR ALL THOSE LAWYERS OF THE PETITIONERS WHO FILED THE PETITION SEEKING TO DECLARE AT LEAST CYBER LIBEL UNCONSTITUTIONAL, so that they may all be discerning during the conference in order for them to achieve their best preparations to defeat the Office of the Solicitor General, the biggest law firm in the country.

We also need all those who are available to come to the Supreme Court to sit in the gallery during the oral arguments.  Your presence is too empowering for us to harden our hearts, sharpen our minds and smooth our tongues.

One relief for now is the Office of the Solicitor General conceded the unconstitutionality of Section 19 (take-down of a website by the DOJ secretary even without a court authorization).  The other relief is that OSG conceded the invalidity of Section 12, that is the real-time data collection to be done by the State even without prior court authority.  These are nothing, however, without overturning the more dangerous provisions that will kill our freedom if we are beaten.

In all the rest of RA 10175, the OSG defends the State's lethal clauses, including:

(a) the provision that allows the prosecution of any person twice over (under any present law and under the Cybercrime Law) despite the clarity that it is a violation of the Constitutional prohibition against putting any person twice in jeopardy;

(b) the provision that increases by one degree the penalty for present crimes committed through the internet; and

(c) the provisions that substantially affect the fundamental rights to expression, speech, press, liberty and privacy of communication.

PLEASE PRAY FOR US.

-- Berteni "Toto" Cataluña Causing, president of Alab ng Mamamahayag (ALAM), petitioner in GR No. 203306